Liangzai had barely returned before everyone swarmed him.
"Drop dead! I told you not to watch so many porn movies!"
"You messing with me? Even I know this much Japanese!"
"You little punk, you've embarrassed us all!"
"Haha..."
Shuya suddenly heard an unfamiliar, ethereal laugh. His head turned instinctively toward the doorway, but he saw nothing there.
Maybe it was just his imagination.
He paid it no mind, merely pushed through the crowd and walked over.
"Shuya?"
Mai-chan watched him go, puzzled.
"Uncle Aoki."
Shuya called to Aoki Shin. "How about I help out? I know a little Great Hua Language too."
"Shu-chan? Are you serious?"
Aoki Shin sounded doubtful.
Everyone's eyes turned to Shuya, who had suddenly appeared.
Jackie Chan's gaze flickered as he recognized Shuya. With his level of physical conditioning, a boosted memory was nothing special.
Muscle Man A looked at Shuya and said to his companion, "This kid's pretty handsome... and he looks kind of familiar, too."
"Hey, you've got a pretty impressive set of muscles yourself."
Shuya smiled at him.
Muscle Man A was startled. "Huh! You actually know Cantonese!"
"A little."
Shuya smiled modestly.
"If you don't mind, I'll translate from here on."
Shuya switched back to standard written language, since the author had had enough fun.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
Jackie Chan paid no attention to his awkwardly grinning subordinate and held out a hand to Shuya.
"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm a big fan of your movies. It's my pleasure to help."
"Haha, you really are as talented as the rumors say, Inoue."
Shuya put on a shy smile. "You can just call me Shuya—or Ah Shu, if you want something with more of a Cantonese flavor."
"All right, I'll call you Ah Shu, then."
Jackie Chan spoke to Shuya in a very approachable manner.
After talking with Jackie Chan for a while, Shuya stopped chatting.
He simply relayed what each side said, translating in real time.
Muscle Man ABC and the others clicked their tongues in amazement, saying Shuya's Cantonese was practically as fluent as a native speaker's.
Shuya just smiled without replying.
After Aoki Shin finished talking with Jackie Chan, Shuya introduced him to the others present.
Once everyone had met, Aoki Shin planned to show Jackie Chan and his crew around the studio, as a good host should.
As the translator, Shuya had no choice but to join the group at the front.
The people working at the TV station witnessed a strange sight: Aoki Shin, the producer, was trailing behind Shuya as he chatted away with the big star from Great Hua.
And judging by Aoki Shin's expression, he wasn't annoyed at all. He was actually looking at Shuya with gratitude.
It was quite a sight.
Shuya didn't give it much thought. He just did his best as their tour guide, though he wasn't very familiar with the place himself. He was only translating Aoki Shin's words.
After the tour, Shuya was finally able to relax. They'd found a temporary translator, so he was no longer needed.
But when the temporary translator arrived and everyone had spoken with him for a while, they all realized he wasn't as good as Shuya.
They couldn't say anything in front of him, so Aoki Shin, Horiuchi Susumu, Jackie Chan, and the others had to put up with it.
The temporary translator wasn't actually that bad. It was just that comparisons made all the difference.
Shuya had simply been too good.
After handing over the job, Shuya slipped back to the rear and stopped drawing attention to himself.
Only then could Mai-chan come over and talk to him.
She poked him and whispered, "Shuya, when did you learn Great Hua Language?"
Shuya casually replied, "I flipped through a few books and picked it up. Great Hua Language really isn't that hard."
"Not that hard?"
Mai-chan was dumbfounded. Countless Chinese characters whirled around in her little head.
Actually, these days, people in the Japan Administrative District were getting worse and worse at Chinese characters. Some people weren't even sure how to write their own names, and even some teachers hesitated when putting pen to paper. (This is true, I'm not making it up. I heard the first part from my Japanese teacher, and experienced the second part myself, lol.)
"I'd believe that when pigs fly! You're such a little rascal!"
Mai leaned close to Shuya's ear and whispered. Her sweet breath made him shiver all over.
Shuya covered his ear and took a step back. "Sorry, my ears are a little sensitive."
"I know. I did it on purpose. That's what you get for lying to me."
Mai snorted.
Heh, what a little temptress.
She was already such a flirt at this age. What would she be like when she grew up?
After teasing Shuya, Mai-chan didn't press him for an answer. He really liked that about her.
A girl who didn't nag.
That one quality alone was enough to put her ahead of countless other girls, never mind that she was as pretty as a little fairy.
Shuya and Mai walked side by side at the back of the group, following the others.
After the tour, Aoki Shin and the others discussed the script with Jackie Chan and signed a contract.
The terms had been worked out long ago, and the contract was written in English. Jackie Chan had no trouble with it.
Afterward, both sides went over the preparations for the upcoming Morning Drama, and Horiuchi Susumu, the director, finally got a chance to speak.
As Shuya listened in, he learned that Jackie Chan wouldn't be the only one appearing in the show. His Cheng Stunt Team would play all the Great Hua Special Forces characters.
He also learned something important: the Morning Drama needed someone to play the commander on the American side.
The American commander appeared even less than the character played by Jackie Chan, but he was essentially the big boss.
Aoki Shin already had someone in mind. He still wanted to hire a hugely popular star.
He named someone famous beyond compare.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
More than ten years ago, he had become a sensation across the Earth Federation with a science-fiction action movie called The Terminator. By now, he was an action star known all over the world.
Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger could be called the representative action stars of the East and West.
They had even made movies together, and both had been wildly successful.
Shuya thought to himself, Aoki Shin isn't just splurging—he's probably spending his coffin money, too.
But it wasn't actually that big of a problem.
MHK was loaded, and this was only a cameo, not a starring role.
The price definitely wouldn't be cheap, but for MHK, it was
a drop in the ocean.
PS2: One joke to share
Sensitive phrase: "You actually know Cantonese"
Me: ???
Section 54: 48. Martial Bone
Though the meeting had hit a few snags, it had ended without any real problems.
The leading actress had also managed to get a photo and an autograph.
In fact, everyone had taken turns getting a photo with Jackie Chan.
He was so popular that even people in the same line of work were big fans.
Shuya waited until most of the crowd had dispersed before going over to stop Jackie Chan, Aoki Shin, and the others as they were about to leave.
Aoki Shin planned to take them out for a good time.
"Shu-chan, is something the matter?"
Aoki Shin and Horiuchi Susumu both looked at him, puzzled.
"Yes. Could I have a moment? There's something I'd like to ask Mr. Chan about."
"Well... you'll have to ask him yourself. I can't decide for him."
Aoki Shin didn't dare make decisions on Jackie Chan's behalf, so he told Shuya to ask him directly.
Jackie Chan was quite friendly. "What is it?"
"Well... there's something I'd like to ask you about."
Shuya wasn't trying to ask about qigong or anything like that. First, he wanted to understand the strange changes in his own body.
Nothing mattered more than that.
"It's like this. I feel like something's off with my body after working out. It seems to be growing too fast."
Shuya voiced his concerns.
"Something's off with your body?"
Jackie Chan's expression grew a little serious. "In that case, would you mind if I examined you?"
"Sure. Sorry for the trouble."
Shuya nodded.
"Mm."
Jackie Chan didn't waste time. He crouched down, squeezed Shuya's body, then placed his fingers on Shuya's wrist.
Shuya felt a warm current snake through his body like a spirit serpent, then quickly withdraw.
That settled it.
This world really did have qigong.
Shuya showed no sign of anything unusual on the surface, but inside, he was shaken.
Still, he'd been through transmigration and rebirth, so he was fairly good at accepting the unbelievable.
"Boss, what's wrong with him?"
"Is he all right?"
"Is something really wrong?"
Before you continue